The youngest-known participant of the allied invasion at just 15 years old, Jim Radford has now unexpectedly found fame summiting the UK music charts.
ADVERTISEMENTThe youngest-known participant of the allied invasion at just 15 years old, Jim Radford has now unexpectedly found fame summiting the UK music charts.
The 90-year-old even hopes to beat the likes of Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber to the top spot with his song "Shores Of Normandy", the profits for which will go to the building of the British Normandy Memorial.
Radford told Euronews his song is "a belated act of respect or morning for those guys who never came back."
Of the D-Day landings, he said he remembers it "very clearly," adding: "It's one of those sights you never forget, etched on your mind forever, I suppose."
Radford recounts his experiences in the song, speaking of the "bloodsoaked sand", which eventually led him to become a vocal peace campaigner in the 1960s and 70s.
He said he's "delighted" and "surprised" that his song is popular but that he "never aspired to be top of any list" but is "glad it is doing well because every copy that is downloaded raises more money to build the memorial in Ver-sur-Mer for the 22,000 British-led troops who fell in Normandy."
June 6 marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which was the largest combined land, air and naval operation in history when over 150,000 soldiers from the UK, US, Canada and France landed on the beaches of Normandy.
Tributes to the fallen will take place on Thursday in the UK, France and beyond, with Euronews bringing you special coverage of the anniversary.